The Past Come Back To Life
by Mulder's Girl
Summary: Trance decides that Harper was not the one meant to live in the episode "Ouroboros" Spoilers- anything after Ouroboros. FINISHED!
1. Changing Fates

"Harper, there is a way. You know what it is as well as I do." Trance told him, her voice full of emotion.

He stared at her in horror. Beka was dead, Rommie was dead, everything he loved was gone. But he still didn't know if he could bring himself to do it.

"Harper, it's now or never. The magog will be here, in this very room, in a matter of seconds. I don't want to see you die, you know this, but what do you have to live for? If you stay, you will be eaten by the magog.

"And if I leave, I'll meet the same fate."

"But you'll save everyone you love."

"OK. If that's what has to be done to save them, then so be it. At least I'll get to see them one more time, at least I'll get to say goodbye."

It was so hard for him to come to terms with. That he couldn't save the people he cared about, that Hohne could. That he had to die for them to live. It hurt, but he couldn't put his own life over theirs. And that was just the thing, it wasn't just his friend's lives at stake, it was the whole universe.

FLASH

Suddenly they were in Machine Shop 17, the tesseract machine in front of them. He knew this had to be Trance's doing.

He heard Dylan's voice. "You realize as soon as we destroy this machine, we'll have to kill you." Then Beka's, "No, you save Harper!"

'Beka, it can't be done. I'm not meant to live. But I love you, all of you. Beka, you were the best big sister a guy could ask for. Goodbye"  
Trance nodded at him, understanding in her eyes. Then she blew up the tesseract machine.

Trance knew she had made a mistake by saving Harper and coming back. She had told her younger self exactly what was going on and what she had to so, so her presence was no longer essential, but Hohne's was. And she regretted having to kill one of her best friends, but the fate of the universe rested on the death of that one person. At least he had died knowing he was saving everyone he loved.Beka was in the Maru. Specifically in Harper's room. She didn't feel any pain for her brother, simply numbness. She couldn't believe he was gone, she wouldn't. And she wouldn't come out of this room until she saw him again. There was still a half empty Sparky on the tabletop, a pile of dirty Hawaiian shirts in the corner, and random tools in the bed. Yes, he would be back any second, he never let Sparky go to waste. He wouldn't leave her, not after everything they'd been through. She sat there for hours, then she finally slipped into unconsciousness.  
  
Harper walked into the room with a goofy grin on his face. "So that's where I left the Sparky!" Beka grinned back at him. "You're insane, you know that, Seamus?"

"Only in the best way, boss," he said, downing what was left in the can and throwing it to the side. She threw a pillow at him. "Hey, what was that for?" he whined, throwing it back at her.

"This means war!" she spat, with a playful grin on her face. Suddenly the room was filled with feathers and cotton. In the flurry, Rommie walked in.

"Beka, I came to notify you-" She looked at the giggling, feather-covered mass on the floor.

"Beka, Harper, is that you?"

"Yeah, Rom-doll, you wanna join us?" He asked, dumping an entire pillow on her head. Rommie simply looked at him like he was crazy, which only made the two laugh harder.

"I quite honestly don't want to know what you're doing. Beka, when you get done, Trance wishes to speak to you in her quarters. I don't believe it's serious, so you needn't hurry." She walked out with a completely dumbfounded look on her face.

"As much fun as that was, I'm going to leave you to clean up, Beka said, walking towards Trance's room.

"Hey, no fair!"  
  
Beka woke up swinging a pillow. Suddenly it hit her- there would be no more pillow fights, or good natured teasing, because there was no more Harper. She collapsed on the floor, her body wracking from the pain coursing through her, and her tears flooded the floor.


	2. Breaking Bonds

Chapter 2

"Hohne, you know with our recent uh, _loss_, we're going to need a new engineer." Dylan told him, with a solemn look on his face. "Regardless of the fact that some crew members do not wish to replace the old one, me included, the ship has to have one."

"Dylan, I understand. I would be honored to be chosen for such a revered position."

"Very well then. I will have Rommie show you around the machine shops. There is one, though, that one of my crew has requested that you do not enter."

"Of course, Machine Shop 17. I know Beka will want his possessions."

Trance was in her quarters, thinking about what her gold counterpart had told her. She said that letting Harper die was the only way, but Trance just couldn't believe that. Of all the futures she could see, there were a few with Harper. But her vision was limited, and her older self told her there was not even _one _he could've survived in. She said that she had saved Harper in the future, and that he had not been able to save the crew. She said that on this new path, Hohne would lead the crew to victory against the Worldship, which they would soon be faced with. Tears rolled down her face. She didn't _care_ about the "perfect possible future" at this point; she only cared about the fact that one of her best friends was dead.

Beka rose from her post beside Harper's bed, wiping the tears from her face. She couldn't afford another breakdown like that, she wouldn't let the crew see her like this. She was the invincible Beka Valentine, and she was going to stay that way. But she wouldn't let Hohne move into the machine shop, she wouldn't let him replace her little brother.

"Trance, Hohne is outside your quarters, requesting permission to enter."

She wiped the tears from her face, she didn't want him to know she wished she hadn't saved him. She had to, that's all that mattered. "Let him in."

The doors opened, and Hohne walked in. "Hello, Trance. I wished to talk to you about, well, why you saved me. I understand that Harper was loved by everyone on the crew, even you, and I am a simple Persied that no one here has any real attachment to."

"When the tesseract machine activated, it changed reality, as you already know. A future version of myself paid me a visit, and she explained to me that _you _were the one who was meant to save the crew from a formidable enemy in the future. She also described a chain of events that have to happen in the near future, but I don't believe I should go into it. She said it was essential the crew remain, for lack of a better word, ignorant about the future."

"I understand. Thank you, Trance." He walked away, unable to understand how he was supposed to do something Harper couldn't.

There was one more thing he had to do before he could rest. He had to visit Rebecca Valentine. He wanted to apologize to her for, well, being alive. He knew how much Harper had meant to her, Dylan explained it to him. He expected her to present hostile behavior, but he had to try. He was sincerely sorry, and he was beginning to wish that he was not the one who lived.

He didn't have to look long to find her, he met her halfway. "Miss Valentine-" he was cut off by "Don't talk to me, Persied. I was coming to find you, and I only have one thing to say to you. Don't talk to me, don't come near me, and don't even think about going anywhere around my little brother's things. I don't care if we're all going to die unless you move them, I won't let you, and I _will_ kill you. You weren't supposed to live. _You took my brother away from me!"_ She started hitting him, and he backed away, trying to dodge her blows.

"According to Trance, there was a reason I had to live and Harper had to die. I am sorry." He said, as he walked rather briskly back to his quarters.


	3. Leaving Home

OK ya'll I'm really sorry. I left out a chapter... this is supposed to go before the one you just read. Sorry, amd please forgive me!

Chapter 3

Hohne had said there was a reason Harper died, and that Trance knew it. Well, Beka Valentine was going to find that reason, and it better be a damn good one. Trance let her little brother die, it wasn't Hohne' fault alone. She couldn't believe her best friend would do that, even under whatever circumstances there were. She found Trance in her quarters, looking a bit upset.

"Hohne just left." Trance said quietly.

"Yeah, I had a little encounter with him too. Let's just say if he comes near me or any of Harper's things..." she slid her hand onto her force lance.

"No, Beka! If you kill him, then Harper's death will have been for nothing. Harper was going to die anyway. If it wasn't now, it would have been two years from now, and he would have been eaten by a magog. I've told you more than I should, but only because you are my friend."

"How could you kill Harper? You, at least an older version of yourself, were the one who destroyed the machine that would've saved him. Even with whatever reasons you had, Harper was your friend. He was my family. I couldn't do that for any reason."

"Beka, Harper was eaten by a magog in the future, and most of the rest of us are. My future self told me that Hohne had to live, that he could save us all. She also told me not to tell anyone anything. Telling you could be a mistake, but I don't think so. I think my future self would want you to understand, even if she didn't say so."

"Trance, I will never understand how you could do that. You're still my friend, you know nothing could come between us, but I can't even look at you right now." She walked out the door, tears rolling down her face again.

The obs deck was empty. Good. She could have some time to herself, for once not on the Maru. The Maru, where all of Harper's most valued things were. The Maru, where she had so many memories with her little brother were held. She didn't think she could go back there anytime soon. And that broke her heart. The Maru was her home, but it was now tainted with sadness.

Andromeda's hologram popped up in front of her. "Dylan has recommended that you go through therapy. Talking to someone really could help."

"I don't need your help, and I don't need to talk to anyone. Please leave me alone." Beka stormed out.

"Where are you going?"

"My quarters. Please engage privacy mode once I get there. Don't let anyone in. Not even your precious captain." The hologram disappeared.

She had to get away from these people. But she couldn't leave, at least not in the Maru. Too many memories. She just wanted to be detached from all of this. To get out, forget the Andromeda, forget Harper. At least until the pain was bearable. And there was no way she was going to let the crew see her like this, she wouldn't let them see her cry. There was just no way. The only person she had ever truly shared her feelings with, the one person who she let see her pain, was gone. Now she had no one to confide in, other than Trance and Rommie, but they just weren't the same. It would probably scare Trance to see her cry, she had always been so strong before. And she refused to give Dylan the satisfaction of talking to Rommie. She hated him for making Hohne the new engineer. At least he had told him to stay out of Harper's machine shop. That was at least a small comfort. For now, she would go to sleep. In the morning, she would ask Dylan for a slipfighter, and she would get away for a while...


	4. Leaving Home

Chapter 4  
  
The morning came, and Dylan was hesitant to let her leave.  
  
"Beka, we need you here." He protested.  
  
"Well, I don't need any of you." The tone of her voice made it clear she was leaving, whether he liked it or not. This was just a formality.  
He gave in. "There is a slipfighter being prepared for you now, but if you wish, I have a small craft in hangar 12." She simply turned around and left.  
She wouldn't take anything but what little money she had, and some clothing with her. The night life on the drifts was what kept her going before. Before the Andromeda, before Harper, before even Bobby. It was what was going to get her through this, too.  
The ship Dylan had for her was about the size of the Maru. It would do. She stepped in, ready to leave.  
  
"Beka, wait! This just came in…" Dylan was running towards her.  
She took it from him. "A data file… it says that Bobby has died. And he left me as his next of kin. I hope they don't think I'm going to do something about this."  
  
"Beka, you need to go-"  
  
"I am on leave right now, remember, captain? You do not tell me what I need to do right now." She stepped into the ship. "Let me out." Walking to the cockpit, she turned around. "I will come back, Dylan."  
  
"I know." He turned around and began to walk away. "By the way, the ship's name is the Challenger. Thought you might like to know." She nodded and went on her way. At least she would escape this crap for a while. Honestly, she didn't think she'd miss anyone here for a while.  
  
Tyr was in his quarters. He had stayed detached from the whole situation. When the little professor died, he slipped away and kept his distance from the rest of the crew. He knew they would be mourning him, and that they wouldn't expect him to join in. The truth was, losing Harper had affected him more than he's like to admit. And what it must be doing to Captain Valentine… but he wouldn't go there. He wanted to comfort her, but he wouldn't. She was a mere kludge; it would make him seem weak. Although she was exceptionally strong for a kludge, almost enough to be Nietzschean. This was ridiculous, he would stop considering all of this right now. He headed to the weight room.  
  
On the challenger, Beka was getting a message. The face that popped up on the screen was one of the strangest things she'd ever seen: Bobby Jensen, back from the dead.  
  
"Why, hello Beka! Miss me?"  
  
"Not really. I don't feel like dealing with your crap right now."  
  
"Awwwww, we can't talk?"  
  
"Let's don't and say we did."  
  
"That's just not good enough for me. Jensen out." Suddenly the ship rocked from impact, and an alert sounded. "We are being boarded."  
  
"Thought continuing our conversation in person would be better."  
  
"I don't. What do you want?"  
  
"Access to the Andromeda Ascendant."  
  
"Well too bad, as of right now I'm not a part of that crew anymore."  
  
"But I bet you still have all the access codes. And that little mudfoot of yours could probably work his magic from right here."  
  
"He probably could. Too bad he's dead." She was trying with everything she had to keep her emotions in check, but she was going to collapse soon. Jus thinking about it killed her, and talking about it was a million times worse.  
  
"Oh no. Well, at least there won't be Sparky cans all over the floor, and chairs, and tables, and, well everything."  
  
"You bastard, you're talking about my brother! Get the hell off my ship!"  
  
"I'm guessing this isn't your ship, it doesn't look quite like the Maru…"  
  
"Get off right now, dammit!" She started shooting at him, but he just laughed it off.  
  
"You think that will affect me?" For the first time, she really looked at him. "You're a cyborg!" She whispered in complete astonishment.  
  
"I take it you like the new look?" he was laughing at her. "Look, just give me the access codes to the Andromeda, and I'll leave you alone. But remember, I can tell when you're lying."  
  
"Fine. She threw him a disk of the codes. These are the codes. I'm not lying, now go away."  
  
"Thanks, nice seeing you again, babe!" He walked off the ship jovially.  
  
"The codes before Harper changed them." She said to his retreating figure, grinning. "You're gonna wish he was still around, he's the only one who knows how to turn off the defense system when someone tries to use those codes!" 


	5. The Past Awakening

Chapter 5

Beka continued towards her destination, Otrarius Drift. It was in the middle of a system of drifts, the perfect place for her.

"Can we save them?" Dylan asked.

"There are some still alive, Trance and I can get them to the Andromeda."

"Good. And Rommie, hurry!"

Later

"Dylan, we couldn't save any of them. The last one just died."

"Ummm... are you sure about that?"

Rommie turned around to see one of the corpses advancing on her. She shot it with her force lance, to no avail. Behind her, Dylan simply said "It's never easy."

Beka was sitting in a bar, drinking a Hawaiian Punch. When the group of men approached her, she gave them a glare that would've stopped any normal criminal in his tracks.

"Hey pretty lady." The man who was apparently the leader said.

She tried not to get pissed. "Bite me." She muttered.

"Just tell us where." He gave her a toothy grin. She wished he hadn't.

"You're going to be sorry you even suggested that." She pulled out her force lance, and wondered why the leader ws still smiling. That was her last thought before everything went black.

The bodies were attacking the crew, and nothing could stop them. Trance pulled Dylan aside.

"My... future self told me what I had to do here. She said that they are called the Bokor, and the only way to stop them is to shock them with high levels of electricity. She also said that me becoming infested is unavoidable."

He stared at her for a second. "Go to your quarters. I don't want you coming out until this is over." He started to walk away.

"Dylan."

He turned around. "I know Beka asked for time off, but we have to go get her. Today. The future Beka... you didn't see her. She was so... empty. The only reason she kept fighting is because of what happened to her, she felt like she had to make sure it didn't happen to anyone else. But she stopped believing she could ever be happy, that anyone could ever love her. We can't let that happen again."

"You can't tell me what happened, can you?"

"Nope."

"Where is she?"

She gave him coordinates. "On one of these drifts. Once we get in the area, Rommie will be able to find the Maru. Harper installed a system between the Andromeda and the Maru in case we ever got separated.

"When did he do that?"

Trance bowed her head and said quietly, "The day before I killed him."

Dylan went white. "Trance, I don't ever want to hear you say that again. Now get to your quarters, we'll talk about this later." They went their separate ways.

One of them was waiting to infect her outside her quarters. She didn't know why, but this had to happen. When he advanced, she offered no resistance.

Beka woke up tied to a bed, the leader of the gang standing over her, all his minions behind him. "Hello, gorgeous." He smirked. She looked down at the bed, then at the men standing over her, and a look of horror came over her face. The leader smiled and pressed a button, moving the bed into an upright position. Her feet were at least 6 inches off of the floor.

"No, we're not going to do that. Yet." He stepped up on the platform beside her. "But you're going to wish that's what we did. You see, we have to extract our revenge. We have to make it extra special for you, Captain Valentine." It wasn't until then until she realized who it was. The son of that flash dealer... the one she had killed in front of his little boy all those years ago. He saw her look of regret, heard the anguish in her voice as she whispered his name. "Darion..."

"Oh, don't feel guilty. We'll make you pay." He said, then he tore off her shirt and held up the blade. "This will hurt."


	6. Rescue Mission

Chapter 6

Trance... or Trance's body was off to find Dylan. She didn't have to wait long.

"Trance, I thought I ordered you to your quarters."

"You did. Unfortunately, Trance is unavailable at the moment."

"No." Dylan whispered.

The Bokor grinned, and attacked him. Dylan defended himself, but didn't fight back.

"Damn it Trance, you told us you were going to be infected, not how to fix it without killing you!"

She grinned. "There is no way."

"Well, why don't you just leave her body? We've already killed the rest of you."

"That's why I infected this body. I knew you wouldn't kill it."

Tyr had been watching the whole thing. "Like hell we wouldn't." and shot her. She fell to the floor, dead.

Beka was staring at the pool of blood on the floor. Hers, it was all hers. And no one could help her, either. The crew didn't care about her. Just like none of them had cared about Harper. They would abandon her, just like they did him. They didn't need her.

Trance got up off the floor, Dylan and Tyr looking at her like, well, she should be dead.


	7. Moving On

They got her to Med deck safely.

"Trance, will she be ok?"

"She'll live." Dylan didn't like the way she said that. "I need you to leave, I have to undress her and clean her wounds."

Dylan walked out, wondering why they let Harper die in the first place. None of this would've happened. "Dylan, don't talk like that! Are you saying you would rather Hohne died?" He chastised himself. But he didn't answer that question.

Trance was re-dressing her as she woke up. Beka lashed out at her, but Trance had the forethought to restrain her.

"Shh, Beka, it's me. It's Trance. You're back home, on the Andromeda. "

Beka wasn't quite awake yet, she sounded almost drunk. And she very well may have been, in a way. She wasn't sure what those men were doing to her, they could've been injecting her with drugs. Trance hoped not, but the scans would tell her soon.

"The Andromeda? How did I get here?"

"We went to get you, everyone here missed you."

Beka scoffed, apparently awake enough to understand what Trance was saying. "Yeah, you missed me about as much as you miss Harper, you murdering bitch."

Trance finished dressing her without another word, then went to her quarters to cry.

:::::::::::::::::

"Dylan, I think you need to go visit Trance in her quarters. I was keeping watch on her and Beka in medical...."

"I'm on my way, Rommie."

He hurried down, wondering what could've happened, but he had a theory. Rommie opened the door to let him see Trance on the bed, crying her eyes out. He went to hold her, and she let herself fall into his arms.

"Trance, what did she say?"

"She called me a murdering bitch, and she's right! I killed Harper, I killed my best friend." She sobbed.

Dylan pushed her away. "Trance, you look at me. You did what you had to do to save the universe. We all understand, even Beka. She's just having a hard time coping."

She didn't look like she believed him. "Trance...."

"Okay, Dylan. Thank you."

He wasn't thoroughly convinced, but he had someone else to go see.

He walked into medical to see Beka crying too. "Now what?" he wondered.

She stopped as soon as she realized someone else was in the room.

"Beka, about what you said to Trance..."

"I know Dylan, I'm sorry. We need to stick together, or we're never going to be able to go on without him... I know she had to. It's just so hard knowing that one of your best friends had to kill your little brother...."

"I know, Beka, it's hard for all of us. We all loved him. Harper was a son to me, Trance's best friend, your brother. Hohne looked up to him, and I think even Tyr cared about him. You're right, we do need to stick together. That includes Hohne too, you have to accept him."

"I will, Dylan. I just don't think I can do that yet."

Trance walked back in. She did have a job to do.

"These scans show they didn't put anything into her system, they just cut her. We're lucky we got there when we did."

Dylan looked at her, then at Beka. "I'm going to be in command if you need me."

He walked out. "Trance... "Beka started.

"No Beka, don't apologize, you were right."

"No I wasn't. You did what you did because you had to. I admire your strength, I could've never done it. We can't blame anyone, Harper wouldn't have wanted us to be fighting. It would've hurt him to see what has been happening since he died, and we can't let his death be for nothing. If we let this drive a wedge between the crew, then it will."

Trance didn't say anything for a minute. "You're fine, you can go to your quarters if you wish."

Beka stood up slowly. As she was walking out the door, Trance stopped her. "Beka..."

She turned around, and felt Trance embrace her. She returned the hug, knowing she was forgiven.

"Thank you Beka. You're right, he would be hurt."

And they both started crying.


	8. Reawakening

I know it's been like three months, and I'm so incredibly sorry! I've had so much schoolwork it's unbelievable, and I'm shirking a book report on Pride and Prejudice to write this now. Lol. Hope you guys like it…

XXX

He had gathered the materials slowly and carefully. No one had noticed yet, and it had been more than a month since he'd started. It was now three months since Harper's passing, and the whole crew seemed happier. All except for Trance, her dark brooding worried them all. Hohne took the hint that his deadline was fast approaching, and pulled himself out of his daydream to continue his work.

XXX

Trance headed toward the Obs deck. She knew that was where Dylan would be. The end was fast approaching, and she had to warn him. Two years after Harper's death, the Magog Worldship was supposed to arrive. However, she had reason to believe that it would be here within three months. She had no idea what was influencing the acceleration. But she had to let the captain know, it was time.

"Dylan, we need to talk."

He always hated seeing that innocent looking face so serious, it never meant anything good.

"To my quarters, then?"

They walked in that general direction.

"The Worldship is almost here, isn't it?"

She bowed her head. "Yes."

"Trance, how do we defeat it? You must know a way. Obviously, the key is Hohne. But how?"

"It's simple, Dylan. He can hide things from Rommie and the rest of us, and Harper couldn't."

Dylan did not like the sounds of that at all.

XXX

He couldn't finish it. One final touch needed to be made, but Hohne couldn't figure out what it was. The one thing keeping him from destroying the Worldship. He needed it to go undetected, so the Magog would not have time for countermeasures. Anything they did would deflect the bomb just enough to have them survive. The Andromeda and the Commonwealth would still win, but the Magog Worldship would survive. And they could rebuild, and the universe would have to go through all this again. That could not happen.

XXX

Trance knew it was time. Time for her final play. She rose off of the floor, surrounded in a golden glow. Luminescent colors swirled about her, and she seemed more supernatural than ever.

"Just as this universe has a gateway for us to leave it, so can people come through a gateway into it. Harper is dead to this universe, but not to many others. It is now time for that gateway to open, and for the one to save us to come through. Come, now, Harper, and do what you must. For without you and Hohne working together, this universe will not survive."

The glow became so bright that any organic watching would've been blinded. She seemed about to explode, but the colors faded and she descended to the ground. Descended to land right in front of Seamus Zelazny Harper.


	9. The Happy Ending

He looked around. "Where am I? Trance? How did I get here?"

"Harper, you are no longer in the same universe, we need you in this one. Now, go help Hohne, he needs you."

"Hohne? Hohne is dead!"

She shook her head. "It is true, one of you died in every universe. But I fixed it." She said matter-of-factly.

XXX

"Boo."

Hohne almost jumped out of his skin. "Harper! But you're dead!"

"Yeah, I thought the same of you. Now what's the problem?"

He just pretended it didn't bother him. "Ummm… I can't figure out how to make this go undetected."

Harper took a quick look at it. "Turn this the other way, switch those two valves, attach these here."

"These" were the devices Hohne had built to blind the Worldship's sensors. The problem was, they weren't powerful enough to work on such a huge device.

"Mr. Harper, there is no way these will work…"

"If you put them where I said to, it will."

"Okay."

Harper left, he had other places to go. He wanted to see the big sister he hadn't seen in years.

XXX

He walked onto the Maru. She was there, just like she always was. God, she was as beautiful as ever.

"Beka." He whispered.

She turned around, Gauss gun raised, and promptly dropped it when she saw who it was.

"Harper!" She ran and embraced him. "I don't care how it happened, but I love you. I've missed you so much."

"Same to you, big sis." She had died in his universe five years earlier. Refused to cooperate with an Uber who wanted her body, so he killed her. Neither one of them wanted to let go.

"I see you've found each other."

Trance was behind them. Beka looked at her in awe.

"You did this, didn't you?"

The purple pixie shrugged and walked out.

"I'm going to go say hi to everyone else."

"Wait."

They walked onto the Andromeda together. "Rommie, Beka here. Tell everyone to meet me in command ASAP."

"Sure thing, Beka."

"There now Harper, I made it easy for ya." They walked the whole way there with their arms around each other.

XXX

"Beka, we're about to encounter the Worldship. This better be – HARPER?"

"The one and only! How ya doin boss?"

He hugged Harper almost as hard as Beka had. "Hey, missed you too big boy."

Tyr even allowed himself a smile. Rev, however, refrained as not to scare them.

"So, I hear we have a bunch of Magog coming at us. Since I tweaked Hohne's bomb, it should be good enough to take out that ship once and for all."

Dylan did not look happy. "Hohne's bomb?"

"Ummm… yea."

"Dylan, Hohne has snuck parts by blinding Rommie's sensors. He's built something powerful and stealthy enough to defeat the Worldship, with Harper's help. I couldn't tell you, because you would've stopped him. This is the only way."

He still wasn't pleased, but it would have to do. "Trance, how long until they get here?"

"A few weeks, a few days, a few hours, a few minutes. There's no way to be certain, but it's soon. Very soon."

"It's never easy."

XXXX

The crew passed the days in anxiety. They just wanted it to be over. The fact that they had Harper back was wonderful, and was probably the only thing that kept them from going crazy. He spent most of his time with Rommie and Beka on the Maru. For some reason, the android was spending more and more time there. She felt more than she was programmed for toward the return of Harper. More than she would admit.

"Dylan, I'm detecting a slipstream event. It's swarm ships."

"Oh, shit. Battle stations!"

The crew was there in record time. "It's here, isn't it boss?" both Harper and Hohne were standing toward the back.

"Yes. Now Tyr, take out the swarm ships."

He didn't need to be ordered.

"Swarm ships gone."

"More are coming."

"Dylan, there's another slipstream event. It is the Worldship."

"Power up the bomb NOW!"

"Ready to deploy in two minutes."

"If we live that long!" Harper did not like Magog.

"Dylan, they are breaching my hull."

"In ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, waiting for your mark, Captain."

"Mark!"

"Bomb deployed."

"Now get us out of here!"

"Aye Aye, cap'n."

Beka took them into slipstream.

"The Magog have been knocked off of my hull, and my internal defenses have taken care of the few who did get in."

"Good."

Trance was smiling. "We won!"

XXX

The aftereffects were what they all expected. There was nothing but debris left, which was good. At least the system was uninhabited.

The crew stood arm in arm, facing what they had done. Hohne included.

"Everything is perfect now." Beka was in awe of how well things were going.

"Well… not quite." Harper stepped out. "You see, there's the matter of engineer…"

"Mr. Harper, the position is yours." Hohne didn't intend to keep it anyway, it was Harper's work, his passion.

"With you as my assistant, of course." The persied smiled.

"I would be honored."

Dylan interrupted. "Now that that's all settled, how about we go celebrate?"

As they were walking toward the mess hall, Harper noticed Rommie hanging back. He let the others go on without him.

"Hey, Rom-doll. What's wrong?"

"Harper, have you ever had feelings you couldn't explain, and that you know you shouldn't be having?"

"Of course."

"Well, I'm having those now. And I don't know if I should act or just ignore them."

He didn't know what to say. "Rom-doll, whoever it is you feel that way about, tell them. They're crazy if they reject you." He looked at her with longing.

"That's a good idea, Harper. But I think I'd rather just act on it."

She advanced toward him.

"That works too," he managed to get out before she kissed him.

XXX

"Hey, where are Harper and Rommie?" Surprisingly enough, Hohne was the one who noticed their absence. The rest were too preoccupied with food and victory.

"Right behind you." They had just walked in, hand in hand. The mess hall went quiet.

"Rommie, Harper, something you want to tell us?" Dylan asked.

"Nothing you don't already know." It was a bit hard to miss. Harper turned to Trance. "Trance, I have to thank you. You took me out of a hellhole where my family is gone. Now, not only do I have them back, I have the woman I've always been in love with, too."

Beka smiled. "I'll toast to that."

And as they did so, Harper pulled Rommie to him and kissed her.

THE END

So what did ya'll think? This was my first fic, so I know it wasn't that great. But I still want your opinion…


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